Archive for the ‘page layout’ Category

One of the hallmarks of a professionally published book is the attention to the details. When my team designer Kerrie Lian designed the interior of my client’s book, she used several elements related to airplane pilots to carry a graphic theme throughout the book. The title of the book was: If the Customer’s the Copilot, You’re in the Wrong Seat. My client, Brian Dennis used a pilot metaphor when he wrote and self-published this book on customer service. Marty Petersen, our team illustrator created the stunning cover illustration of the interior of an airplane cockpit. Here is the front cover: This is the first chapter’s title page….

Before you produce a marketing piece you may want to consider the following steps to save time and money. For over 25 years I have been helping solopreneurs and small businesses with brochures, postcards and campaigns. We guide our clients through these steps to produce stunning designs with compelling content in a timely fashion within their budgets. Here’s how we do it: Produce a Marketing Piece by Starting at the End! Ask yourself, “What is the final format that I need?” Is it printed piece, a slide show, postcard, e-mail blast, etc.? Consider the time frame for each phase of the job. How much…

This month I’m shining the spotlight on a recent client project, and to explain how to make a memoir paint an exceptional picture of someone’s life. Gene Rhodes wrote a comprehensive memoir of his dad, Billy Rhodes—an adventurous spirit who passed at a relatively young age. Gene meticulously compiled his dad’s diary, letters, old photos, documents, hand written notes and log books into a 320-page record of Billy’s life. Gene came to us in 2011 for help with laying out the book interior, designing the cover and to learn how to make a memoir rise above others through excellent design and production techniques….

Our client, Shima Shanti, of Peace Waters Publishing came to us with a collection of illustrations and text to combine and arrange into a children’s book. The picture book design and layout needed something to tie all the pages together and unify the collection of drawings. I came up with the idea of using stock images of abstract watercolors in the backgrounds of all the pages to enhance and support the drawings. My designer, Kerrie Lian looked at the book one spread at a time to coordinate the watercolor backgrounds with the colors, patterns and imagery in the drawings. Shown…

Designing a children’s book was a treat for my team! As a team leader serving the publishing community, I have the privilege of helping authors publish their books and launch their websites. Every client is so passionate about his or her book, product or service, it’s fun to live vicariously through their work for a few months. Occasionally a client brings a project that seems to leap heads and shoulders above the rest in regard to the intriguing subject matter, quality of content, scope of work, artistic challenge and affect it has on our community. One such project was Alphabet Denver,…

Tips on Graphic Design and Page Layout Last month I outlined a few simple techniques used by graphic designers to improve the look and feel of your newsletter. This month I’ll explain how to work with your photos and images to bump the quality of your marketing pieces to the next level. Working With Images in Your Page Layout There is just so-o-o much truth in “A picture is worth a thousand words.” You’ll want to marry your written words to pictures that heighten the message for your customer. When placing photos into your marketing pieces, remember these rules of…

If you’re one of those brave entrepreneurs who’s tried to embrace desktop publishing along with the responsibilities of running your small business, you’ve may have been challenged by the task of creating a page layout for your marketing materials or newsletter. Corporations have an undeniable edge over home-based businesses because they generally have an in-house department filled with skilled marketing experts and graphic designers. In your small business, that task usually falls to you or your administrative assistant, whose training in the graphic arts may be haphazard. A discerning eye can easily spot the difference between a professionally-designed newsletter over an amateur…

It takes just a few vital seconds for an editor or reader to decide whether your self-published book is worth reading or not, so the design of the book cover is incredibly important. If the key opportunity for selling your book exists in one tiny glance, that glance had better be optimized by excellent design elements, wouldn’t you agree? Publishers want their book covers to be unique and memorable. An excellent cover design and compelling title makes that happen. An excellent book cover is like the striking pose of a model – stunning and creative. Shown below are 3 sample covers designed by our…

Once you’ve done all the hard work of writing your book manuscript, you’ll need expert assistance to create a stunning cover and for designing interior pages. You want to make sure the book’s interior marries well with the book’s cover, target market and purpose. I am a book lover in my heart and I have been since I was just learning how to read. I love to go into a book store. I am continuously delighted with the cleverness used in book design, an area where you might think there’s not a lot of room for innovation. In this post, I am going…

Choose Appropriate Fonts for Your Self-Published Book Interior A quick look on your software reveals myriad choices of fonts and you can always find more! But like shopping in a candy store, you have to make judicious selections. It is important to select appropriate fonts to communicate your message to your readers, particularly when dealing with titles and headlines. Why? Because specific fonts can evoke a certain attitude and feeling that reinforces your intended message. Fonts for Headlines Choose a bold font with the right personality for your book interior. After all, fonts (like people) have personalities, and different designs…

Karen Saunders & Associates delivers the guidance, skills, and team of experts to make your dream to self-publish your book or brand and market your new small business a reality. If you’re an author or self-publisher or you’re a new professional speaker, corporate consultant, life coach, or business coach – ready to self-publish your book or brand and market your small business – let Karen Saunders guide you on your path!

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